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Copyright 'N?_ 

COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT; 















































FAIRIES OF THE 
NINE HILLS 


Books by 

N. MOORE BANTA 


The Brownie Primer 

Ten Little Brownie Men 

The Brownies and the Goblins 

Busy Little Brownies 

The Fairy Primer 

Fairies of the Nine Hills 

Four-and-Forty Fairies 

Once Upon a Time Stories 

The Robin Redbreast Book 

The Bluebird Book 

The Jenny Wren Book 

The Chickadee Book 

Bluest of Blue Birds 

The Little Brown Man 

The Little Brown Pitcher 


Published by 

A. FLANAGAN COMPANY 
CHICAGO 





Fairies of the Nine Hills 



N. MOORE BANTA 


ILLUSTRATED BY 

DOROTHY DULIN 


1923 

A. FLANAGAN COMPANY 
CHICAGO 


23 - 4^o S' 




COPYRIGHT. 1923. BY A. FLANAGAN COMPANY 


( 1 < 
< < 


Printed in the United States of America 






©Cl A6D 817 8 

FEB -5 ,323 


^V: A 




PREFACE 

The fairy story is ever growing more and more 
in favor with educators for use in instruction in 
reading in the primary grades. At this time in 
the child’s life the fairy tale gives him the 
keenest pleasure. This is the time that he most 
enjoys roaming in this world of fairy lore. 

The fairy story stimulates the child’s natural 
love of action, arouses his curiosity, brings keen 
joy to his little soul, and directs and cultivates his 
imagination. 

No child will make proper progress in read¬ 
ing unless he is interested in the thing about which 
he is reading. He likes the fairy story; therefore 
he learns to read it quickly. The reason there are 
such a vast number of poor readers among school 
children is because they are not interested in the 
subject matter they are supposed to read. 

There are many grown-up persons who walk 
with hobnail boots over practical cement and sani¬ 
tary gravel in their choice of reading, and would 
have all children follow in their footsteps, but 
fortunately the myriad tracks of the dear little, 
light little shoes of the children go to the golden 
gates of Fairyland. 


In the preparation of this little book it has not 
only been the aim of the author to teach the child 
to read, but to give him some elementary instruc¬ 
tion in Fairy Mythology. The characterizations 
of the little fairies here given conform to the best 
authorities in fairy lore. 

Fairies of the Nine Hills has a very large 
amount of reading matter, considering the small 
vocabulary it contains, thus making it very easy 
for the child to read. The vocabulary is founded 
upon the vocabulary of The Fairy Prtmer. Hard 
words and long sentences have been kept out, 
thus furnishing plenty of breathing spaces for the 
little reader. This book is intended for supple¬ 
mentary reading in the Second and Third Grades, 
being equivalent in reading matter to any aver¬ 
age basic Second Reader. 

This little book is sent forth with the 
hope and belief that it will add joy, profit, 
and pleasure to the child-mind; that it will make 
his progress along the pathway of reading easier; 
and that the little child-heart will be favorably 
impressed with the lessons herein set forth in 
good-fellowship, honesty, industry, politeness, 
truth, and rewards for work well done. 




CONTENTS 

The Little White Dwarf Fairies. 9 

Once I Saw a Little Dwarf. 14 

The Little Glass Shoe. 17 

The Little Brown Dwarf Fairies. 36 

The Brown Dwarfs Are Coming. 40 

The Little Silver Bell. 43 

The Little Black Dwarf Fairies. 60 

The Fairy Blacksmith. 64 

The Wonderful Plow. 66 

The Farmer’s Wish. 80 

The Little Troll Fairies. 83 

The Troll Letter. 90 

The Little Elf Fairies. 99 

The Elf-king’s Tune.117 

The Dance of the Elves.126 


















“The hives celebrate their weddings ” (Page 113) 



































































































































THE LITTLE WHITE DWARF 
FAIRIES 



Here are the little White Dwarfs. 
They are happy little fairies. They are 
very interesting little fairy men. 

White Dwarfs are only about a foot 
and a half tall. 





10 FAIRIES OF THE NINE HILLS 

They have strange, beautiful, little 
fairy faces. They have sharp little 
twinkling eyes. They have a pleasant 
smile all the time. 

The White Dwarfs always wear 
white clothes. That is why they are 
called White Dwarfs. They trim their 
clothes in red and black. 

They wear little glass shoes about 
large enough for a big doll. 

White Dwarfs are very kind and 
gentle little fairies. They are friends 
to all good people. They want to make 
everybody happy. White Dwarfs are 
pleasant and beautiful little men. 

They live away down deep under 
the hills. They stay down under the 
hills only in the wintertime. Here 
down deep under the ground they 
have their workshops. 

These workshops of the White 
Dwarfs are most wonderful places. 



“Very wonderful musicians ” 













12 FAIRIES OF THE NINE HILLS 

White Dwarfs make all kinds of beau¬ 
tiful things out of silver and gold. 

They make watches, rings, chains, 
and bracelets. They make many other 
beautiful pieces of jewelry. 

Their works are so dazzling that it 
pains one’s eyes to look at them. They 
do not work in any other metals but 
gold and silver. 

All winter long they work down in 
their underground shops. What a 
great number of beautiful things they 
make during all this time! 

When spring comes the White 
Dwarfs leave their underground 
homes and come above the ground. 

They live above the ground as long 
as warm weather lasts. They live in 
the sunshine and the starlight. Among 
the trees and the flowers is where they 
like to live. 

It is said they are very wonderful 


LITTLE WHITE DWARF FAIRIES 13 

musicians. At night they play their 
sweetest music. 

They cannot be seen, so the music 
seems to come out of the trees and 
flowers. Then they dance on the hills, 
and about the brooks and springs. 

They dance among the flowers and 
on the grass. They try to make peo¬ 
ple happy with their sweet music. 

It is said White Dwarfs bring us 
pleasant dreams at night and happy 
thoughts all day long. They usually 
hide in the trees and flowers and grass 
during the day. They like best to 
travel about by starlight and moon¬ 
light. But they often travel by day. 

Then they fly about in the shape of 
beautiful little colored birds and but¬ 
terflies. Sometimes the}^ take the form 
of snow-white doves. In these day¬ 
light travels they hunt up good peo¬ 
ple who need their help. 


ONCE I SAW A LITTLE DWARF 

Once I saw a little Dwarf 
Come hop, hop, hop; 

So I cried, “Little Dwarf, 

Will you stop, stop, stop?” 

From his head to his feet 
He was dressed all in white; 

Such a tiny little fellow! 

A very interesting sight! 

On his little feet 
Were little shoes of glass, 

That didn’t make a sound, 

As he hopped o’er the grass. 

He hopped upon his left foot. 
Then upon his right; 

And I began to laugh, 

For it was a funny sight. 

14 


ONCE I SAW A LITTLE DWAEF 


15 



When he heard me laughing, 
He hopped behind a tree, 
He didn’t want to talk, 

That I could plainly see. 

He thought he was hidden, 
But I could see his eye 
As he peeped around the tree, 
So very, very sly. 




FAIRIES OF THE NINE HILLS 

Then I called, “Little Dwarf, 
Come out with me and play;” 
But all was very still— 

He hadn’t anything to say. 


I ran to the tree, 

Thinking I would find him; 
But he had hopped away, 
And I was far behind him. 


To the hill he hopped, 

And then he turned around, 
And waved his little hand, 

And stamped on the ground. 


I was going to the hill 
To make him a call; 

But he shook his little head, 
Then he wasn’t there at all! 


THE LITTLE GLASS SHOE 



“He found a little, glass shoe” 


Once upon a time there lived a poor 
farmer by the name of John Wild. His 
home was in the land of the little 
Dwarfs. 

The Nine Hills of the Dwarfs were 
near John Wild’s farm. One day he 


18 


FAIRIES OF THE NINE HILLS 


went out walking over these Dwarf 
hills. He found a little glass shoe. 

Now this was a very precious little 
shoe. It belonged to one of the little 
White Dwarfs. This Dwarf had lost it 
in the nighttime while he was out 
dancing. He had been dancing there 
on top of one of the Nine Hills. 

No sooner had Farmer Wild found 
this shoe than he clapped it into his 
pocket. He ran away with it as fast as 
he could run. 

He kept his hand close to his pocket 
as if he had a dove in it. He knew that 
he had found a treasure. He knew 
that the little White Dwarf must get 
the shoe back at any price. 

Now there is a song about “The 
Little Glass Shoe.” John Wild at once 
thought of this song. He kept sing¬ 
ing it over and over. This is the little 
song he kept singing: 


THE LITTLE GLASS SHOE 


19 


“If on the Nine Hills, 

When dewdrops are glancing, 
You find a glass shoe, 

Where fairies were dancing, 
Home quickly you run, 

And hide it, I say, 

For the fairies will come 
To take it away. 

“Watch it and keep it, 

Till the fairies agree 
To pour out their treasures 
For you and for me; 

Don’t part with it lightly, 

Hold it fast, I, pray, 

For a mountain of riches 
It’ll bring us some day.” 

Farmer John lost no time in letting 
the Dwarfs know he had the shoe. At 
midnight he went to the Nine Hills. 

He called as loud as he could: “John 


20 


FAIRIES OF THE NINE HILLS 



—- 

“The little Dwarf must go. barefoot” 


Wild has got a beautiful glass shoe! 
Who will buy it? Who will buy it?” 

He knew that the little Dwarf who 
had lost the shoe must go barefoot till 
he found it again. That would be a 
bad thing for the little Dwarf. These 
little people have nearly always to 
walk upon very hard and stony 
ground. 


THE LITTLE GLASS SHOE 


21 


Now this call of Farmer John’s was 
soon answered. The little fellow who 
lost the shoe heard John calling out. 
So he lost no time in setting about to 
get the shoe. 

The first day this little White Dwarf 
could get away he changed himself 
into a fine-looking merchant. Then 
he went and knocked at the door of 
John Wild. He asked if John had a 
glass shoe to sell. 

“For,” said he, “people very much 
want glass shoes now. In fact they are 
hunted for in every market.” 

John said, “Yes, it is true that I have 
a glass shoe. It is a very little, little, 
nice, pretty, little glass shoe. But it is 
so small that even a Dwarf’s foot would 
be squeezed in it. 

“God must make people on purpose 
for such a small shoe before it can be 
of anv use. But for all that, it is a very 


22 FAIRIES OF THE NINE HILLS 

valuable shoe and a dear shoe. It is 
not every merchant that can afford to 
pay for it.” 

The merchant asked to see it, and 
looked at it closely. 

He said, “Glass shoes are not 
so scarce, my dear friend, as you think 
they are. If you go much into the 
world you will find out what I say is 
true. 

“However,” said he, “I will give you 
a good price for it. I will give more 
than anybody else for I happen to have 
the very mate to it. I will give you a 
thousand dollars for this little glass 
shoe.” 

“A thousand dollars is real money, 
my father used to say, when he drove 
fat oxen to the market,” replied John 
Wild. “But this shoe will not leave my 
hand for that small price. 

“I should rather give it to my little 


THE LITTLE GLASS SHOE 


23 



“Yes, it is true that I have a glass shoe” 


niece for her doll’s foot. I have heard 
a little song sung about the glass shoe. 
And it is not for a pinch of dirt that 
it will go out of my hands. 

“But listen to me, my good fellow. 
I will give you the glass shoe if you 
will give me the good luck to find a 
silver dollar in every furrow I turn up 
when I am plowing. If not, the glass 



24 FAIRIES OF THE NINE HILLS 

shoe is still mine. You may look for 
glass shoes at those other markets.” 

The Dwarf merchant tried very hard 
to buy the shoe in some other way. 
He talked a long time to John about 
what a big price he was offering. He 
offered him more money, but John 
would not let him have the shoe. 

John always answered, “A silver 
dollar in each furrow is the price.” 

The merchant offered many kinds 
of trades. 

John always gave the same answer, 
“A silver dollar in each furrow is the 
price.” The Dwarf merchant finally 
had to agree to John’s price. He 
promised to see to it that John would 
find a bright new silver dollar in each 
furrow plowed. 

Said he, “Your plow is now made a 
magical plow.” 

Cunning Farmer John knew right 


THE LITTLE GLASS SHOE 


25 


well with whom he was dealing. He 
knew this was only a little White Dwarf 
changed into a merchant. And he 
knew that a Dwarf would always keep 
his promise. 

Therefore, the glass shoe was at 
once handed over to the merchant. 
Before John could get his breath the 
merchant with his little glass shoe was 
gone. 

Farmer John lost no time in trying 
out his luck in finding silver dollars. 
He hitched up his horses to the plow, 
and drove out to the field. 

He chose a piece of ground where 
he would have very short turns. He 
wished to pick up silver dollars very 
fast. He said to his horses, “Gee up 
there now!” and he began to plow. 

Hardly had the plow turned up the 
first sod, when up sprang a bright new 
silver dollar. 


26 FAIRIES OF THE NINE HILLS 

“Ah! that’s the kind of plowing for 
me!” said he. 

And it was the same with every 
fresh furrow he made. A new silver 
dollar always turned up. 

There was now no end of his plow¬ 
ing. John Wild could never get 
enough silver dollars. He always 
wanted more. As fast as he could fill 
his pockets, he would empty them. 
Then he would start quickly to fill 
them again. 

He had eight horses, and he worked 
them so hard that they all became 
tired out. He bought eight more 
horses. 

He put them into the barn beside 
the other eight. Their mangers were 
never without plenty of oats in them. 
He now had sixteen horses with which 
to plow up silver dollars. 

He hitched up two fresh horses 


THE LITTLE GLASS SHOE 


27 



“Ah! that’s the kind of plowing for me” 


every two hours. This change was 
made often so he might drive faster, 
and pick up more silver dollars. 

It was plow! plow! plow! all the time. 
Every morning he was out before sun¬ 
rise. Many a time he plowed till mid¬ 
night. 

Summer and winter it was plow! 
plow! evermore. Only when the 


28 FAIRIES OF THE NINE HILLS 

ground was frozen as hard as a stone 
did he stop. 

He always plowed by himself. No¬ 
body ever went out with him. This was 
the kind of a crop that he* didn’t want 
his neighbors to know about. 

But it fared far worse with Farmer 
John than with his horses. They ate 
good oats and hay and had plenty of 
rest. Each team had to work only a 
short time each day. 

But John grew pale and thin be¬ 
cause he worked nearly all the time. 
His wife and sons no longer had any 
pleasure in him. He never went any 
place. 

He kept himself from everyone, and 
hardly ever spoke a single word. He 
went about silent, and wrapped up in 
his own thoughts. All day long he 
toiled for his bright new silver dollars. 

At night he had to count his money, 


THE LITTLE GLASS SHOE 


29 



and put it into his money chests. 
Then he would have to plan and think 
how he might find out a still swifter 
kind of a plow. 

His wife and neighbors were much 
worried over his strange conduct. 





30 FAIRIES OF THE NINE HTLTiS 

They began to think that he was losing 
his mind. 

The neighbors pitied his wife and 
sons. They thought his foolish way of 
farming would soon leave him without 
house or land. 

But of course they did not know why 
he was plowing so much. True it was, 
he became richer day by day. But 
the poor man never enjoyed a happy 
or contented hour. 

From the time he began to plow up 
silver dollars he was unhappy. No one 
can work all the time. John Wild did 
not long hold out. Running through 
the furrows day and night was too 
much for him. 

He got through two years, and part 
of the third. But one day he dropped 
down at the tail of the plow. 

He could no longer walk. He was 
like a played-out November fly. He 


THE LITTLE GLASS SHOE 


31 


tried hard to get up and plow another 
furrow, so he could get another silver 
dollar. But he had plowed up his last 
dollar. 

Out of a pure thirst after money, he 
was wasted away, and dried up to 
nothing. But before the little glass 
shoe had fallen into his hands, he had 
been a strong and hearty man. 

After his death, however, his wife 
and sons found a very large treasure. 
There were many great, nailed-up 
chests full of good, new, silver dollars. 

Now Farmer Wild had three sons. 
They were all young men. They were 
all good workers. For some time they 
had all made their own way by work¬ 
ing for neighbor farmers. Their father 
was poor. They had to work. They 
must make their own living. 

When they found the great chests of 
money their father had left they would 


32 FAIRIES OF THE NINE HILLS 

not work any more. They did not need 
to work. They had too much money 
to spend. They became very lazy. 
They spent their time in idleness and 
high living. 

They bought fine clothes and fine 
horses and carriages. They built great 
castles in which to live. They had no 
time for anything but high living and 
spending money. 

Even their father’s big chests of 
money were not enough for them. It 
did not take them a great while to 
come to the last silver dollar. The 
money was spent about as fast as their 
father had plowed it up. 

The spending of the money injured 
the health of the sons faster than the 
finding of it had injured the health of 
their father. By the time they had 
spent the last silver dollar their health 
was entirely gone. Their love of idle- 


\ 



\ 

“High living and spending money” 






































34 FAIRIES OF THE NINE HILLS 

ness and high living ended their lives 
just as too great a love for money had 
ended the life of their father. 

So passed away the sons of Farmer 
Wild. They had been so greedy in 
spending money they did not even 
leave anything for their poor mother. 
She alone had remained good and kind 
and true. She did not permit the great 
chests of money to injure her. 

She afterwards said to a neighbor 
lady, “Mr. Wild meant well by us. He 
thought money would bring us happi¬ 
ness. He loved money too much. He 
did not know what unhappiness he 
was bringing upon us. If he had ever 
thought the money would ruin our 
sons he would not have plowed up 
a single dollar. 

“Money does not always bring hap¬ 
piness. Indeed, it often brings sadness. 
It is good only when it is wisely used. 


THE LITTLE GLASS SHOE 


35 


Too great a love for money is bad for 
anyone. How much better it would 
have been if Mr. Wild had plowed up 
only what money we needed!” 

“And what did you do with the 
magic plow?” asked the neighbor 
lady. 

“Ah,” said Mrs. Wild, “I hope no 
farmer will ever again find that plow. 
I went to the Nine Hills at midnight 
and called to the White Dwarfs to take 
the plow away and bury it deep under 
one of the Nine Hills. The next morn¬ 
ing the plow was gone, and I’m sure 
the Dwarfs did as I told them.” 

So ends the story of “The Little 
Glass Shoe.” And for all I know, the 
magic plow is still under one of the 
Nine Hills. Anyway that is where it 
ought to be. I hope no farmer will 
ever be so unlucky as to get it 
again. 


THE LITTLE BROWN DWARF 
FAIRIES 


Aren’t these funny looking little 
men? They are little Brown Dwarfs. 

They are little fairy men. They are 
cousins to the little White Dwarfs. 

It is said they are less than a foot 
and a half high. 

Brown Dwarfs dress in brown. That 
is why they are called Brown Dwarfs. 
They wear little brown pointed caps, 
brown coats, and brown trousers. 
They trim their clothes in red, black, 
or white. 

They wear little silver bells in the 
tops of their caps. It is said some of 
these Dwarfs wear black shoes with 
red strings in them. 

However, most Brown Dwarfs wear 

36 i 


LITTLE BROWN DWARF FAIRIES 


37 


fine glass shoes. 

When they dancer 
they always wear'* 
glass shoes. 

Brown Dwarfs 
are very hand¬ 
some and pleas¬ 
ant little fairies. 

They have light- 
colored eyes, and 
their hands and 
feet are small and 
most beautiful. 

They are very 
happy and useful little men. 

Their home is down under the hills. 
Down under the hills they have their 
wonderful little workshops. 

And what wonderful little workmen 
these little Brown Dwarfs are! Like 
the White Dwarfs they work only in 
silver and gold. They make most 



“Cousins to the little White 
Dwarfs” 


38 FAIRIES OF THE NINE HILLS 

beautiful Jewelry of all kinds. They 
give this jewelry to children whom 
they like most. 

At night the Brown Dwarfs come 
out of their hills. Then they dance 
merrily by the light of the moon and 
stars. 

They enter people’s houses, but they 
are invisible. Their caps make them 
invisible. 

If anyone has a Dwarf cap to place 
on his head, then he may easily see 
the Dwarfs. But it is not an easy mat¬ 
ter to get hold of a Dwarf cap. So very 
few people are ever able to see a 
Dwarf. 

Brown Dwarfs often take presents 
to good children. Often these presents 
are very beautiful and costly. 

Sometimes they take children gold 
rings and gold beads, and other beau¬ 
tiful things. At other times they take 


LITTLE BROWN DWARF FAIRIES 


39 


them money and play¬ 
things. 

Sometimes the Brown 
Dwarfs watch children 
and keep them from get¬ 
ting hurt. They are said 
always to be great lovers 
of good children. 

They keep children 
from getting drowned or 
getting burned. They do 
not like cross or lazy peo¬ 
ple. They punish them 
by pinching them and bringing them 
bad dreams. 



Go out at night 
In the bright moonlight 
And stand close up to a linden tree; 
Then lie down and roll over 
On a four leaf clover, 

And a Dwarf you surely will see. 



THE BROWN DWARFS ARE 
COMING 


“The Brown Dwarfs are coming” 



The Brown Dwarfs are coming; 
Do you hear them humming 
A low, sweet tune? 

There they come walking; 
Perhaps they are talking 
Of the flowers of June! 

40 



THE BROWN DWARFS ARE COMING 


41 


They are so very small. 
Only about a foot tall. 
These little brown men; 
Do see the little chaps! 
With little pointed caps! 
Down there in the glen! 


I’ve heard it said 
Their shoe strings are red. 
And little shoes black; 
And as soft as down 
Is the little coat of brown 
On each little back. 


At the top of the cap 
Of each little chap 
You can see from afar 
The little silver bell— 
That’s the way to tell 
Just who they are! 


42 


FAIRIES OF THE NINE HILLS 


Welcome, my little men, 

To the top of the ground again, 
From your underground home; 
What a joy you bring, 

As we hear you sing, 

While about us you roam! 


When you walk up and down, 
My little fairies brown, 
Hunting for children gay, 
To give beads and rings, 

And a lot of pretty things, 

I hope you’ll come our way. 


We don’t ask for much, 

For costly jewels and such, 
From your wonderful store, 
For whatever you bring, 

We’ll be happy and sing, 

“Joy to you evermore!” 


THE LITTLE SILVER BELL 


There once lived a very interesting 
little shepherd boy by the name of 
Fred. He was often called Little Shep¬ 
herd Fred. He lived near the Nine 
Hills in the land of the Dwarfs. He 
drove his sheep out early every morn¬ 
ing over these Nine Hills. 

One morning early as he was driv¬ 
ing his sheep over one of these hills he 
found a little silver bell. As soon as 
he saw this little bell he knew it must 
be worth a great deal. 

It was unlike any other bell he had 
ever seen. It was very tiny and had a 
very queer little shape and a very 
queer little tinkle. He thought it such 
a dear little bell that he fastened it to 
his belt. 


43 


44 


FAIRIES OF TIIE NINE HILLS 



“He found a little silver bell” 


Now it happened to be the bell be¬ 
longing to the cap of one of the little 
Brown Dwarfs. He had lost it while 
he was out dancing on the hill in the 
night. 

As there were so many other little 
cap bells tinkling he did not at once 
miss his. He couldn’t tell whether his 
bell was tinkling or not. 




THE LITTLE SILVER BELL 


45 


So he had gone down into his hill 
without his bell. He was a sad little 
Dwarf, indeed, when he found out his 
loss. 

The worst thing that can happen to 
these little fairies is to lose their caps 
or shoes. Even to lose the bell from 
their caps, or the buckles from their 
belts, is no small thing for them. 

Whoever loses his bell from his cap 
cannot get a wink of sleep till he has 
found it. So you can easily see how sad 
this little Brown Dwarf was. He must 
either find his bell, or pass a lot of 
sleepless nights. 

The little fellow was in the greatest 
trouble. He searched and looked 
about every place. 

Where could the bell be? How could 
he learn who had it? 

There are only a few days in the year 
that Brown Dwarfs may come up to 


46 


FAIRIES OF THE NINE HILLS 


the daylight. Then they cannot ap¬ 
pear to people in their true form. 

So how in the world was this little 
Dwarf to find his bell? But he started 
out to hunt for it just as soon as he 
could. 

First he thought he would inquire of 
the little boys. So he turned himself 
into a little boy. 

He went among all the little boys. 
He would say to each little boy: 

“Little boy, little boy, 

IVe lost a little toy, 

A pretty little bell; 

If you’ve my Tingletoo, 

No boy’s so rich as you. 

Where is it? Can you tell?” 

But no little boy knew anything 
about it. 

It happened Little Fred had gone 


THE LITTLE SILVER BELL 


47 



away from that farm near the Nine 
Hills. He had left the very next day 
after he had found the bell. 

He had gone to another sheep farm 
quite a long way off. He was herding 
sheep on that farm. Of course he 
took the little silver bell along with 
him. 


48 FAIRIES OF THE NINE HILLS 

This made it bad for the little Dwarf. 
How unhappy this little Dwarf was, 
for he could not get any sleep! 

The little Dwarf thought he would 
next ask the foxes. So he changed him¬ 
self into a fox. When he would see a 
fox he would call out: 

“Brother fox, do you hear? 

IVe lost something dear, 

A pretty little bell; 

If you’ve my Tingletoo, 

No fox’s so rich as you; 

Where is it? Can you tell?” 

But the foxes didn’t know anything 
about it. 

Next he thought he would ask the 
birds. He knew that some birds liked 
to pick up bright things. 

They liked to carry such things to 
their nests. So the little Brown Dwarf 


THE LITTLE SILVER BELL 


49 


changed himself into a beautiful little 
bird. 

Then he flew to all the trees. He 
sang to each little bird: 

“Little bird, up in the tree, 

Will you listen to me? 

IVe lost a little bell; 

If you’ve my Tingletoo, 

No bird’s so rich as you; 

Where is it? Can you tell?” 

But the birds didn’t know anything 
about the little bell. 

The little Dwarf was so sad, but he 
kept on looking. He must find the bell 
or never get any more sleep. 

He kept himself changed into the 
beautiful little bird all the time. He 
thought he could hunt better that way. 
He kept flying farther away from the 
Nine Hills. 


50 FAIRIES OF THE NINE HILLS 

Many a day went by before he found 
out who had his bell. It was by mere 
chance that he found this out. 

He was a long way from home, and 
had been hunting for the bell all day. 
He had sung to many birds that day 
and looked into many nests. It was 
evening and he was tired. 

He started to fly home, and he flew 
over the very farm where Shepherd 
Fred was herding sheep. Several of 
the sheep had little bells about their 
necks. 

These little bells tinkled merrily 
when the boy’s dog set the sheep trot¬ 
ting. The little bird, who was flying 
overhead, thought of his bell. And he 
began to sing his sweet little song: 

“Little bell, little bell, 

Little ewe as well, 

You, too, little sheep. 




“He saw the pretty bird” 

















52 FAIRIES OF THE NINE HILLS 

If you’ve my Tingletoo, 

No sheep’s so rich as you, 

My rest you keep.” 

Little Fred looked up, and listened 
to this strange song which came out 
of the sky. He saw the pretty bird, 
which seemed to him still more 
strange. 

“If one but had that bird, it would be 
worth its weight in gold. What can he 
mean by that wonderful song? The 
whole of it is, it must be a feathered 
witch. 

“My sheep have only brass bells, 
and he calls them rich. I have a little 
silver bell, and he sings nothing about 
me.” 

With these words he began to reach 
into his pocket for the bell. He soon 
pulled the bell out and rang it. 

The bird in the air heard it at once, 



THE LITTLE SILVER BELL 


53 


and knew what it was. He knew that 
it was his own little Tingletoo. 

This delighted him so much he 
could hardly get his breath. He van¬ 
ished in a second, and flew behind the 
nearest bush. He alighted and drew 
off his speckled feather-dress. 

He turned himself into a poorly 
dressed old woman. The old woman, 
with many sighs and groans, tottered 
across the field to Little Shepherd 
Fred. 

He was still ringing his bell and 
wondering what had become of the 
beautiful little bird. 

The old lady, after coughing quite 
hard, bade him a kind good evening. 
She asked him the way to the nearest 
village. 

Looking at Fred’s little bell, she 
cried, “Mercy me! What a pretty little 
bell! Well! in all my life I never saw 


54 


FAIRIES OF THE NINE HILLS 



c< *Only listen, mothersaid he, ringing it” 


anything more strange and beautiful! 

“Tell me, my son, will you sell me 
that bell? And what may be the price 
of it? I have a little grandson at home, 
and such a nice plaything as it would 
make for him!” 


V 










THE LITTLE SILVER BELL 


55 


“No!” replied Fred, quite short, “the 
bell is not for sale. It is a bell the like 
of which is not to be found in the whole 
world. I have only to give it a little 
tinkle, and my sheep run of themselves 
wherever I would have them go. And 
what a delightful sound it has! Only 
listen, mother,” said he, ringing it. 

“Is there any sadness in the world 
that can hold out against such a rich 
sound? If there is any sadness, I have 
only to ring this bell. It will be gone 
in a second.” 

The old woman thought to herself, 
“We shall see if he can hold out 
against bright shining money.” 

And she took out no less than three 
silver dollars and offered them to him. 

He still replied, “No, I will not sell 
my bell.” 

She then offered him five dollars. 

“The bell is still mine,” said he. 


56 FAIRIES OF THE NINE HILLS 

She stretched out her hand heaped 
up full of five dollar gold pieces. 

He replied this third time, “Gold is 
dirt and does not ring.” 

The old woman then changed her 
line of talk. She told Shepherd Fred 
about a wonderful country far away. 
Such flocks of sheep and herds of cat¬ 
tle! They were unlike those of any 
other place. 

Certain secret charms made them 
grow beyond all belief. It was then 
that Shepherd Fred lent a willing ear 
to her talk. 

She said to him, “Listen, my child! 
give me the bell; and see! here is a 
white stick for you.” 

She took out a little white stick that 
had wonderful carvings cut on it. 
There were carvings of beautiful fat 
sheep with fine lambs dancing before 
them. There stood a handsome shep- 


THE LITTLE SILVER BELL 


57 



“Done! Strike hands! The hell for the stick!” 


herd boy tending the flock of sheep. 

This was a wonderful magic stick. 
Shepherd Fred could see everything 
in that beautiful country about which 
the old lady was speaking. 

“I will give you this stick for the 
bell,” said she. 

“As long as you drive your sheep 
and cattle with it they will be sure to 
thrive. With this stick you will become 



58 


FAIRIES OF THE NINE HILLS 


a rich shepherd. Your sheep will al¬ 
ways be fat a month sooner than those 
of other shepherds. 

“Every one of your sheep will have 
two pounds of wool more than others. 
Yet no one will be able to see it on 
them.” 

The old woman handed him the 
stick. She had a strange manner and 
a bewitching smile. The lad was at 
once in her power. He grasped eagerly 
at the stick. 

He gave her his hand and cried, 
“Done! Strike hands! The bell for the 
stick!” 

And cheerfully the old woman 
struck hands and took the bell. She 
then vanished like a light breeze over 
the field and the forest. He saw her 
vanish, and she seemed to float away 
before his eyes like a mist. 

As she went, there was a slight whiz 


THE LITTLE SILVER BELL 


59 


and whistle. This made the shepherd’s 
hair stand on end. 

Little Fred soon made trial of his 
new shepherd’s staff. He found that 
the old woman had told him the truth. 
He had wonderful luck with his flocks. 

There was not a sheep owner any¬ 
where but who wanted Fred for his 
shepherd. It was not long, however, 
that he worked for other sheep own¬ 
ers. Before he was eighteen years of 
age he had his own flocks. 

In a very few years he was the 
richest sheep master in the whole 
country. 

And from a shepherd boy he became 
a nobleman. He was always a good, 
wise, and honest man. 

And the boys still look on top of 
the Nine Hills for little silver bells, but 
not one has been found since the days 
of Little Shepherd Fred. 


THE LITTLE BLACK DWARF 
FAIRIES 

See these cunning little workmen. 
They are little Black Dwarf fairies. 
They are little black fairy men. 

These little fairies are only about a 
foot tall. They are cousins to the 
White Dwarfs and Brown Dwarfs. 

Black Dwarfs wear black jackets, 
black trousers, black caps, and black 
shoes. They trim their clothes in red 
and white. They are always dressed in 
black, and they have black faces. 

Because they dress in black and 
have such black faces, is the reason 
they are called Black Dwarfs. 

They are not handsome like the 
White Dwarfs and the Brown Dwarfs. 

In fact, they are very ugly, and have 
60 


LITTLE BLACK DWARF FAIRIES 


6i 



“They are all blacksmiths” 


weeping red eyes. They are all black¬ 
smiths, and must work a great deal in 
the smoke. This is what makes their 
eyes so weeping and red. 

Black Dwarfs live away down under 
the hills. Away down under the 
ground they have their wonderful 
blacksmith shops. 

They are very fine workmen. Nearly 







62 FAIRIES OF THE NINE HILLS 

all of their work is in steel. They make 
knives, hammers, scissors, plows, and 
a thousand other useful tools. 

They are such fine workmen they 
can make anything that can be made 
out of steel or iron. 

Black Dwarfs are not very friendly 
fairies. They do not like people, and 
they do not like other fairies. 

They are very different from the 
White Dwarfs and the Brown Dwarfs. 
They are not pleasant and beautiful 
and kind like their cousins. 

Only a few of them work together. 
Only a few of them live together. They 
nearly always stay in their hills. 

They hardly ever come out in the 
daytime. Sometimes they come out at 
night, but they stay near their homes. 

Sometimes on a beautiful summer 
day they come out of their hills. Then 
they sit under the elder trees. They 


LITTLE BLACK DWARF FAIRIES 


63 



“Howl and scream in a terrible manner” 


like the smell of the elder blossoms. 

They do not like music and dancing. 
Black Dwarfs hold their meetings at 
midnight in the woods and marshes. 

They howl and scream in a terrible 
manner at these meetings. Perhaps 
that is their way of making music. But 
people who have heard them say the 
noise is like that of cats and owls. 


THE FAIRY BLACKSMITH 

Little Ole Hanson 

Can speak the best rhyme 
About a little black Dwarf, 

Once upon a time. 

He spoke it to us boys, 

And we all sat just as still 
To hear about the little Dwarf, 

That lived under a hill. 

Away down under the ground, 

This little Dwarf stays, 

And sometimes comes out 
On sunshiny days. 

Little Ole Hanson says, 

“He has very red eyes, 

And for being very ugly, 

He surely would take the prize. 

64 


THE FAIRY BLACKSMITH 


65 


He’s a little blacksmith, 

That’s why his eyes are red; 

The smoke makes them that way,” 
That’s what little Ole said. 

This little Black Dwarf, 

From his head to his toes, 

Is dressed all in black 
Wherever he goes. 

He’s a fine little workman, 

He makes the most things— 

Scissors and knives and hammers, 

And little iron rings. 

Little Ole says he’ll go 
With some of us other boys 

To call on this little Dwarf, 

And get a lot of toys. 

I’d like so much to go, 

With Ole, John and Ted; 

I’d get an automobile 
All painted nice and red. 


THE WONDERFUL PLOW 


There was once a farmer who had 
the good luck to catch a little Black 
Dwarf. The way the farmer got hold 
of this little black fellow was, indeed, 
very strange. 

This farmer was a hard worker. He 
went to the field to plow every day. 
On the road leading to the field stood 
a stone cross. 

Every morning when the farmer 
came to this cross he would stop. He 
would kneel down before it, and pray 
for a few moments. 

One morning he saw a pretty, bright 
insect on the cross. It was of very 
bright colors—gold, black and red. 

The farmer could not remember 
ever having seen an insect like this 
66 



“He saw a pretty, bright insect on the cross’’ 






































FAIRIES OF THE NINE HILLS 


one. He was very much interested in 
it, but he did not touch it. 

It kept running back and forth on 
the cross. It did not stop running for 
a single second. It acted as if it were 
in pain, and wanted to get away. 

The next morning the farmer saw 
the very same insect. It still ran back¬ 
wards and forwards in the very same 
way. The farmer began to think about 
the insect more and more. 

He thought to himself that it might 
be a little Black Dwarf. He knew the 
power of these little fellows. He knew 
they could change themselves into any 
form they might desire. 

He said to himself, “All is not right 
with that insect. It runs about like 
one who has done something wrong. 
It acts as if it wants to get away, yet 
it cannot.” 

A lot of thoughts like these passed 


THE WONDERFUL PLOW 


69 


through his mind. He remembered 
what he had heard some old people 
say about these little Black Dwarfs— 
how these little black fellows al¬ 
ways kept away from churches and 
crosses. They would not touch a 
church or a cross. If they did, they 
would stick fast, and stay there. 

He also thought after all it might 
be just a bug. He did not want to 
harm it, so he let it stay where it was. 
But he found it two other mornings in 
the same place. It was still running 
about in the same way. 

“No, all is not right with it,” said 
he, “and I will catch it.” 

So he made a grab at the insect, but 
it clung fast to the stone. He held it 
tight and tore it away by main force. 
And lo! he found he did not have the 
bug at all. What in the world do you 
think he did have? 


70 


FAIIIIES OF THE NINE HILLS 



“The little black fellow teas kicking and screaming” 

He found he had by the top of the 
head a little ugly black chap, about 
a foot long. This little black fellow was 
kicking and screeching at a most furi¬ 
ous rate. 

It was sure enough a little Black 
Dwarf. The farmer was greatly sur¬ 
prised at this sudden change. Still 
he held his prize fast. 


THE WONDERFUL PLOW 


71 


He kept calling, “Be quiet, be quiet, 
my little man!” 

However, the little Dwarf would not 
be quiet. He kept right on screeching 
and kicking and crying. 

Then the farmer gave him a sharp 
spanking, and bade him stop kicking 
and crying and screeching. 

Said the farmer, “Twice this amount 
of noise will not get you loose. I am 
going to take you home with me. I 
shall see what you are good for.” 

The little fellow now stopped cry¬ 
ing. He trembled and shook in every 
limb. Then he began to beg hard for 
the farmer to let him go. 

“No, my lad,” replied the farmer. 
“I will not let you go now. You 
must first tell me who you are, and 
how you came here. You must tell 
me where your home is. Also, you 
must tell me what you work at, that 


72 FAIRIES OF THE NINE HILLS 

makes you able to earn your bread 
in the world.” 

At this the little man grinned and 
shook his head. He said not a word 
in reply. He only begged and coaxed 
the more to get loose. 

The farmer now began to treat him 
more kindly and coax him. However, 
it all did no good. The Dwarf would 
not tell anything. 

The farmer then changed his man¬ 
ner of treatment again. He gave the 
little black fellow another sound 
spanking. That did no good either. 

The little black chap would not talk. 
He would not say a single word. He 
would only whimper and cry and ask 
to be let loose. 

The farmer at last said, “Do be quiet. 
I should be foolish to make myself 
angry at such a little black brat. Never 
fear, I shall soon make you tame 


TILE WONDERFUL PLOW 


73 


enough. I shall soon make you willing 
to tell me who you are, how you came 
here, where you live, and what trade 
you know.” 

So saying he ran home with the 
Dwarf. He clapped him into a black, 
sooty, strong iron pot. He put a heavy 
iron lid upon the pot. 

Then he put a heavy stone upon 
the top of the lid. The pot was then 
set in a cold, dark room for safe keep- 
ing. 

The farmer then said to the little 
black fellow, “Stay there, now, and 
freeze till you are white! I think you 
will soon make up your mind to tell 
me what I want to know.” 

Twice a week the farmer went into 
the room and said, “My little sooty 
friend, will you answer me now?” 

But the little Black Dwarf was a 
stubborn little fellow. He would not 


74 FAIRIES OF THE NINE HILLS 

answer. The farmer kept this up for 
six weeks without getting the little 
fellow to say one word. However, at 
the end of that time the little Dwarf 
thought he would give up. 

One day as the farmer was opening 
the room door the little fellow began 
to talk. 

He said to the farmer, “Please come 
and take me out of this dirty, black, 
sooty place. I will gladly tell you all 
you want to know.” 

The farmer took him out of the iron 
pot and stood him on the floor. 

“Now,” said the farmer, “who are 
you?” 

The little black fellow answered, 
“You know who I am as well as I do. 
That is the reason you have me here. 
I am a Black Dwarf.” 

Then the farmer asked, “Where do 
you live, and what do you work at?” 


THE WONDERFUL PLOVv 


75 



“The farmer took him out of the iron pot” 


“I am a blacksmith,” said the Dwarf, 
“and live down under the hills. I can 
make anything that can be made of 
steel or iron.” 

“How did you happen to be on that 
cross?” said the farmer. 

“I happened to go a little too near 
it,” said the Dwarf. “That is a thing we 
little people may not do. So I was held 
fast there. My body at once became 
visible. Then, in order that people 
might not know me, I turned myself 
into an insect. 


76 FAIRIES OF THE NINE HILLS 

“When we get stuck fast in this man¬ 
ner, we cannot get loose until some 
person takes us off. But you found me. 
It was, indeed, not very pleasant to be 
fastened to that cross. 

“To say the truth, it wasn’t very 
pleasant either to be taken away by 
you. We little people do not like to be 
taken into a person’s hands.’’ 

“Ho, ho! is that the tune with you?” 
cried the farmer. “You do not like to 
be taken into my hand! Believe me, 
my sooty friend, I don’t like to touch 
you either. So you shall be away with¬ 
out a moment’s delay.” 

“Well,” said the little Dwarf, “I want 
to thank you a thousand times for free¬ 
ing me from sticking to that stone 
cross. Before going I want to grant 
you one wish. Whatever you will, you 
have only to ask. 

“Silver and gold and precious stones 


THE WONDERFUL PLOW 


77 


—all you want—are yours for the ask¬ 
ing. Just ask and a fine house and 
costly furniture will be yours in less 
than a moment.” 

“Of silver and gold and precious 
stones, will I none,” said the farmer. 
“All such glittering fine things, and 
fine houses and costly furniture are not 
for me. They have turned the heart 
and broken the neck of many a one be¬ 
fore now. 

“There are few whose lives they 
make happy. No, my little sooty 
friend, I thank you. I don’t care for any 
of these things. But there is something 
else I think I should like to have. 

“I know that you little Dwarfs are 
handy smiths. You have many a 
strange thing with you that other 
smiths know nothing about. 

“Now I should like to have a won¬ 
derful plow made of steel. Make me 


78 


FAIRIES OF THE NINE HILLS 


a magic plow, such that the smallest 
colt may be able to pull without being 
tired.” 

“You shall have this wonderful plow 
to-morrow morning,” said the little 
Black Dwarf.” 

“Thank you, my little fellow, with 
all my heart,” said the farmer. 

“You are quite welcome,” said the 
little Dwarf. “Good-bye!” 

At once there was a kind of a swish 
and whiz in the air. This made the 
farmer step to one side quickly. The 
little Dwarf had gone away as quick as 
lightning. 

The next morning, before the sun 
was up, there stood in the farmer’s 
yard a fine new steel plow. It was the 
same size as any two-horse plow. The 
farmer called his dog Watch and 
hitched him to it. 

Watch pulled this wonderful plow 


THE WONDERFUL PLOW 79 

with ease through very hard ground. 
And it tore up great large furrows! 

The farmer used this plow for many 
years. The smallest colt or the leanest 
little horse could pull it through the 
hardest ground. They could do this 
without ever becoming the least bit 
tired. 

Everybody who saw the plow won¬ 
dered at it. They could not praise it 
enough. And this plow made a rich 
man of the farmer. It cost him hardly 
anything to run it. 

He led a cheerful and happy life by 
means of this wonderful plow. 

This old farmer would many times 
say, “It is not good to want too much. 
To want but little holds out longest. 
The sweetest wealth is earned by the 
sweat of the brow.” 

And what became of the plow? I 
don’t know. Ask the Dwarfs. 


THE FARMER’S WISH 


Said a little Black Dwarf 
To a farmer one day, 

“What you wish for is yours 
For the asking, I say; 

Silver, gold, and precious stones, 
And costly furniture, too, 

May be had just for the asking, 
All these I will give to you.” 


“Silver and gold will I none, 

Precious stones are not for me, 
Costly furniture for a farmer! 

Take it away,” said he; 

“What I wish,” said the farmer, 

“Is a wonderful, wonderful plow, 
That a colt can draw with ease; 
That’s the thing for me, right now.” 
80 


THE FARMER’S WISH 


81 


Said the little Black Dwarf, 

With a merry, twinkling eye, 

“Your wants are very few; 

The plow is yours. Good-bye!’’ 
Next morn before the sun arose, 
There in a grove of trees, 

Stood the wonderful, wonderful plow, 
That a colt could draw with ease. 

The farmer called to his dog, 

“Here, Watch! Come here! I say;” 
And he hitched him to the plow, 

And with ease Watch trotted away; 
Large furrows the plow turned up 
Among the roots and trees, 

But old Watch trotted along, 

Pulling the plow with ease. 

“Ah, this is the plow for me! 

It’s better far than gold. 

I shall now have a living 
When I grow gray and old; 


82 FAIRIES OF THE NINE HILLS 

With a plow like this 

We’ll never want for bread,” 

Said the good and happy farmer, 
Nodding his wise, large head. 

He said thoughtfully again, 

“Wherever we may go 

There’ll be land to farm, 

And we’ll need to plow, you know; 

God bless the little Dwarf, 

Who brought such luck to me! 

May blessings rest upon his head 
Wherever he may be!” 

And the farmer’s fortune was made 
By the use of this wonderful plow; 

Said he, “That’s the sweetest wealth, 
That’s earned by the sweat of the 
brow; 

Those that always want too much 
Are people not the strongest; 

Only just to want but little 
Holds happiness the longest.” 


THE LITTLE TROLL FAIRIES 



“A family of Trolls out walking” 


The Trolls are very interesting 
fairies. Some people call them Dwarfs. 

They are a little like the Dwarfs, 
for they live under the ground. They 
live under the hills. They are some¬ 
times called Hill-people. 

83 


84 FAIRIES OF THE NINE HILLS 

There are little Troll men and little 
Troll women. They are ugly little men 
and ugly little women. 

Trolls have long crooked noses. 
They have big humps on their backs. 

The men Trolls look like little old 
men. The women Trolls look like little 
old women. 

The Troll children are stumpy little 
children. They are homely little 
fairies. They have humpbacks and 
long, crooked noses just like the papa 
and mamma Trolls. 

The women Trolls wear brown, red, 
or black dresses and red hoods. The 
men Trolls wear black, red, or brown 
jackets and pointed red or black caps. 

It must indeed be a funny sight to 
see a family of Trolls out walking. 
The crooked-nosed papa and mamma 
Trolls with their humpbacks walk in 
front. Then come the little crooked- 


THE LITTLE TROLL FAIRIES 85 

nosed, humpbacked children stubbing 
their toes along behind. 

The Trolls are very rich fairies. 
Their hill-dwellings are very beautiful 
inside. They live in fine houses of gold 
and crystal. They sometimes raise 
these hills up on beautiful red pillars. 
They do this when they are giving a 
grand ball. 

Now there are only a few people 
who have ever had the chance to peep 
into a Troll house. 

There is a story about a boy who 
happened to have this chance. This 
boy was born on Sunday and he had 
the power to see Trolls. He chanced 
to pass on horseback by a Troll hill 
late one night. Such a sight as met 
his eyes! 

The hill was raised up on red pillars. 
The Trolls were feasting and making 
merry. 


86 FAIRIES OF THE NINE HILLS 

The Troll house was full of gold and 
crystal. There stood a great many 
large chests full of money. The Trolls 
were ever pushing these chests to and 
fro. They kept opening and clapping 
down the lids. 

It was easy in this way for this lucky 
boy to see the large amount of gold 
and silver in the chests. Some of the 
Trolls chanced to see the boy. 

They began making signs to him 
to join them. He desired to do so, 
but his horse would not let him dis¬ 
mount. The horse became fright¬ 
ened and carried him away. 

The Trolls ran after him as fast as 
their legs could carry them, but the 
horse was too swift for them. They 
could not overtake him. They wanted 
to catch the boy and take him to their 
home. Then he would never have been 
permitted to leave. 



“The Troll house was full of gold and crystal“ 















































FAIRIES OF THE NINE HILLS 


The Trolls have a great dislike for 
noise. They run away from ringing 
bells and shrieking whistles. They are 
supposed to do many things beyond 
the,power of man. 

Trolls go about invisibly. They can 
turn themselves into any shape. They 
can become larger or smaller. They 
can foretell future events. 

Some Trolls are good and some are 
bad. Some do good things, and some 
do bad things. They can make people 
happy or sad. They can make people 
strong or weak. Indeed, they are most 
wonderful fairies. 

Trolls like to sing and dance. Here 
is one of their favorite songs: 

Jolly little Trolls are we. 

Dancing all about with glee; 

Under the hill or on the top, 

We work or play and never stop. 


THE LITTLE TROLL FAIRIES 


89 


The darkness brings us many joys, 
But the light of the sun annoys; 
We, therefore, love to dwell 
Just underneath earth’s shell. 


Underneath a hill, you see, 

Is just the place for a Troll to be; 
Down there our home is fine, 

There where the sun does never shine. 


At evening when the sun goes down, 
We raise the hill on pillars brown, 

On pillars brown and pillars red. 

We raise the hill above the head. 


Then we dance in a merry ring, 

And play and shout and laugh and 
sing! 

Our life is so full of a number of joys. 
We are just as happy as girls and boys. 


THE TROLL LETTER 


Once upon a time a great number 
of Trolls lived under a certain large 
hill. The hill was near a neat little 
village. 

Now these Trolls had lived in peace 
and happiness under this hill for many 
years. Indeed, they were the happiest 
band of Trolls in the whole of the Troll 
country. 

They were happy and contented 
under this Troll hill as long as there 
was no ringing of bells in the village. 
If there is anything Trolls dislike it is 
noise. They cannot bear the ringing of 
bells and the blowing of whistles. 

Now the people of this village be¬ 
came very pious. They built a new 
church right at the foot of the hill. 

90 


THE TROLL LETTER 


91 


They built a high steeple on the 
church, and put a big bell in the 
steeple. They would ring the bell 
every day. On some days they would 
ring it several times. 

So much bell ringing made the 
Trolls very unhappy. They were very 
angry at the church people. They 
could not bear to hear the bell ring. 

They were angry both at the church 
and the bell. They would get far 
under the hill in the darkest corner of 
their home. Still they could always 
hear the bell ring. 

At last they could not stand it any 
longer. They were angry at the whole 
village. They decided to go away from 
the village forever. 

So this whole band of Trolls went 
to another part of the Troll country. 

They made their home beneath an¬ 
other hill so far away that they could 


92 FAIRIES OF THE NINE HILLS 

not hear the church bell ring. But 
they could not forget about their first 
home. They liked that home better 
than their new home. 

Now among this band of Trolls 
there was one old Troll named Rumble 
Grumble. He was a wicked, cross old 
Troll. 

Every time old Rumble Grumble 
thought about that church bell he 
would almost burst with anger. He 
decided to punish those people who 
were ringing that bell. 

“Yes,” said he, “I will punish that 
whole village.” 

Now a Troll can turn himself into 
any shape he desires. He can become 
larger or smaller, just as he wishes. 

Rumble Grumble had a habit of 
turning himself into a man. Then he 
would take long walks through the 
country in the daytime. 


THE TROLL LETTER 


93 



“Decided to go away from the village forever” 


One morning when he was out 
walking in this manner he met a man 
from the village he disliked so much. 

“Good morning,” said Rumble 
Grumble to the man. 


94 FAIRIES OF THE NINE HILLS 

“Good morning,” said the man to 
Rumble Grumble. 

The man thought he was talking to 
another man for the Troll looked just 
like a man. This man had not lived 
long in the village. 

He came to the village after the 
Trolls had gone away. So old Rumble 
Grumble didn’t know him. 

But he said to the man, “Where do 
you live?” 

“I live in the village near the big 
hill,” said the man. 

Old Rumble Grumble pretended to 
be very friendly. 

“Will you be so kind,” said he, “as to 
take a letter from me back with you 
to the village?” 

Of course, the man said he would be 
glad to take the letter. Rumble Grum¬ 
ble then thrust the letter into the man’s 
pocket. He told him to be sure not to 


THE TROLL LETTER 


95 


take the letter out till he came to the 
village church. 

“When you get to the church,” said 
Rumble Grumble, “just throw the let¬ 
ter over the church wall. Then the 
person for whom it is intended will 
get it.” 

Old Rumble Grumble then hurried 
away. 

The man walked on, and for awhile 
forgot Rumble Grumble and the letter. 
Finally he became tired and sat down 
by the roadside to rest. 

Then he happened to remember 
about the letter the stranger had thrust 
into his pocket. He felt a great desire 
to look at it, at least. 

He remembered that the stranger 
had told him not to take it out of his 
pocket till he reached the church. 
However, he thought one sly peep 
wouldn’t hurt anything. So he took it 


96 FAIRIES OF THE NINE HILLS 

out of his pocket. He looked it all 
over carefully. 

He couldn’t see anything strange 
about it. It looked just like any other 
letter. He sat for awhile with it in his 
hands. 

Suddenly a little stream of water be¬ 
gan to run out of one corner of the 
letter. The letter now unfolded itself. 
The water came out faster and faster. 

At last it came in a great stream. 
The water came so fast it was hard 
for the poor man to keep from being 
drowned. He ran as fast as he could 
for a hill. The water came on like a 
great river behind him. 

He just got away in time. In another 
moment he would have been drowned. 

The wicked old Rumble Grumble 
had put a whole lake into this letter. 
He thought he would drown the vil¬ 
lage and sink the hated church and 



“The water came out faster and faster” 
























98 FAIRIES OF THE NINE HILLS 

noisy bell to the bottom of the lake. 

But there still stands the village and 
the church, and the bell still rings. 

Old Rumble Grumble has long ago 
disappeared. 

This letter of his really did a great 
deal of good for the village. For there 
near the village lies this beautiful lake 
formed by the Troll letter. 

And to this day fine fish are in its 
sweet waters. Delightful bathing 
beaches are along its shore. The boys 
and girls take great pleasure in boat¬ 
ing and skating over its smooth sur¬ 
face. 


When you meet a Rumble Grumble, 
Look out for a lake in a letter! 
Quickly turn and walk away, 

And you will fare much better. 



THE LITTLE ELF FAIRIES 



The Elves are little fairies. They 
look like little men and women. They 
dress like little men and women. 

They are so very small they climb 
up the sunbeams. They climb up the 
moonbeams. They slide down the sun- 

99 



100 FAIRIES OF THE NINE HILLS 

beams. They slide down the moon¬ 
beams. 

In the daytime the Elves climb up 
and slide down the sunbeams. At 
night they climb up and slide down 
the moonbeams. 

This is fine fun for the Elves. It is 
as much fun for them as it is for boys 
and girls to coast down the hills. 

What tiny little creatures the Elves 
are! They are so small that three or 
four might easily stand on the palm of 
your hand at one time. 

They sometimes wish themselves 
larger. They sometimes wish them¬ 
selves smaller. 

Their wishes are always granted at 
once. 

So you see they may become larger 
or smaller just as they wish. Isn’t this 
a wonderful power to possess? Just 
think of it! 





They slide down the moonbeams 


y y 










102 FAIRIES OF THE NINE HILLS 

One little Elf says, “I wish to be as 
large as a Giant.” 

Immediately he is as large as a 
Giant. 

Another little Elf says, “I wish to 
be as small as an ant.” 

Immediately he is as small as an ant. 

Most fairies possess this power of 
becoming larger or smaller as they de¬ 
sire. 

The Elves are invisible. In fact, all 
fairies are invisible except to a very 
few favored persons. 

If one has a pair of fairy spectacles 
he may see Elves and similar beings. 
Fairy spectacles are very scarce. They 
must be obtained directly from the 
fairies. Only a favored few have ever 
been able to obtain them. Children 
born on Sunday, the thirteenth day of 
the month, are remarkable for being 
able to see Elves and other fairies. 



“Very fond of dancing in circles” 














104 FAIRIES OF THE NINE HILLS 

They do not need fairy spectacles. 

The Elves are very fond of dancing 
in circles on the grass in the meadows. 
They usually do this dancing at night. 

Now if any one is so fortunate as to 
get within that circle at midnight the 
Elves immediately become visible to 
him. However, he can get one peep 
only at them as they will vanish from 
sight at once. 

The Elves possess the power to 
bestow op whomsoever they please the 
gift to see Elves. This gift, however, 
is rarely ever bestowed upon anybody. 
So you see it is not everyone that can 
see Elves. One person may see them 
dancing while another sees nothing at 
all. 

It is said that the Elves write books. 
These are called Elf-books. They give 
these books to those whom they dearly 
love. 


THE LITTLE ELF FAIRIES 105 



The Elf-books are very wonderful, 
indeed. They enable their owners to 
foretell future events. 

Now the Elves are not only very 
little fairies, but they are as beautiful 
as they are little. It is said by many 
that they are the most beautiful of ail 
the fairies. 

They enhance their beauty by wear¬ 
ing most beautiful clothes. They dress 
in white trimmed with beautiful colors. 


106 FAIRIES OF THE NINE HILLS 

The Elf-women never grow old. 
They never lose their beauty. 

Some of the Elf-men grow old. Some 
remain ever young and handsome. 

The young Elf-men wear pointed 
caps and clothes of beautiful colors. 
The old Elf-men wear low-crowned 
hats and clothes of duller colors. 

Some Elves dwell nearly all the time 
in the air. Sometimes they come down 
and wander along the banks of some 
favorite stream. Then they may dance 
on the leaves of the trees and on the 
grass in the meadows. 

Then back up into the air they go. 
All Elves can go up into the air, but 
they do not all like to live there. 

There are other Elves who would 
rather live among the leaves of trees. 
They dance upon the leaves. They sit 
upon the leaves. They step from one 
leaf to another. 


THE LITTLE ELF FAIRIES 


107 



“They step from one leaf to another” 


They are not afraid of falling. When 
they have a party they use the leaves 
for chairs. An Elf can hop around over 
a tree as lightly as any bird. 

The Elves always sing when they 
hold parties among the leaves of the 
trees. They are very sweet singers. 

People who have heard them sing 
say their music is much sweeter than 



108 


FAIRIES OF THE NINE HILLS 



“They are not afraid of falling” 


the music of birds. There are a few 
people whose hearing is sharp enough 
to understand Elfin music. Most peo¬ 
ple who hear the music of the Elves 
think it is only the wind sighing, 
among the branches of the trees. 




THE LITTLE ELF FAIRIES 


109' 



“They use toadstools for chairs” 


There are some Elves who dwell 
among the tall grasses. Here they may 
be seen on bright moonlight nights. 
They swing on the grass stems. They 
dance on the grass. 








110 FAIRIES OF THE NINE HILLS 

They use the toadstools for chairs. 

Sometimes three or four Elves may 
be seen sitting upon one toadstool. 
What a happy time they have jumping 
from one toadstool to another! They 
shout and laugh and play games very 
much the same as boys and girls. 

There are still other Elves who live 
under the ground. They are not as 
good Elves as the ones who live in the 
air and the trees and the grass. 

Nearly all Elves live near the banks 
of streams. 

The Elves who dwell in the air and 
the trees and the grass are called white 
Elves. The ones who dwell under¬ 
ground are called Black Elves. The 
Black Elves are sometimes called Evil 
Elves. 

It is said the Black Elves often bring 
sickness upon people. Sometimes they 
bring injury. Sometimes they bring 


THE LITTLE ELF FAIRIES 111 



“They shout and laugh and play games” 


bad luck. But these Black Elves are 
not always bad. They sometimes be¬ 
friend good people. 

The White Elves are always good 


112 


FAIRIES OF THE NINE HILLS 



“Among the best fairies in the whole world” 

fairies. They are the good-luck little 
people. They are among the best 
fairies in the whole world. They are 
not only among the best fairies, but 
among the happiest. They are truly a 
gay and joyous race. 

The Elf maidens spin their holiday- 
dresses of moonbeams and sunbeams. 
It must be a grand sight to see their 
little, lily-white hands spinning beau- 


THE LITTLE ELF FAIRIES 


113 



“There are little King and Queen Elves” 


tiful cloth out of pure moonlight and 
sunlight. Then to see them dressed in 
these colors is another grand sight. 

There are little King and Queen 
Elves. They reign over the other Elves. 
The Elves celebrate their weddings 






114 FAIRIES OF THE NINE HILLS 

and holidays with fine banquets. They 
celebrate these just the same as peo¬ 
ple do. 

There is another interesting class of 
Elves called the Hill-people. They 
dwell in caves and small hills. When 
they show themselves they have a 
handsome human form. These Hill- 
people are not such happy little fairies 
as the White Elves. 

There are only a few old persons 
living now who can tell anything about 
these Hill-people. They will tell you 
how the Hill-people used to sing so 
sweetly on summer nights. 

This sweet music came out of the 
little Elf hills. This singing happened 
only on bright, still nights. Then one 
could not hear the music unless he 
stood very still and listened very 
closely. 

Sometimes even then the music 
























116 FAIRIES OF THE NINE HILLS 

could not be heard unless the ear was 
placed close to the Elf-hill. But when 
listening to this music, no one must be 
so cruel as to say a cross or harsh 
word. 

If anyone should say cross or harsh 
words the singing would cease at once. 
Then there would be sorrow and weep¬ 
ing among the Hill-people. 

It is said that some musicians are 
such good listeners that they learned 
how to play the Elfin music. They 
learned these tunes by listening to the 
underground people among the hills 
and rocks. 


When it is Sunday night, 

And the moon is shining bright, 
Put your ear to an Elfin hill, 
And just be very, very still; 

Then ’tis said you’re sure to hear 
Elfin music, sweet and clear. 



THE ELF-KING’S TUNE 



There is a most enchanting piece of 
music called the Elf-king’s tune. This 
was composed by an old Elf-king who 

117 




118 FAIRIES OF THE NINE HILLS 

was wonderfully gifted with the 
power of magic. 

Some of the fiddlers know this tune 
right well, but they never venture to 
play it. If any fiddler should venture 
to play this tune both old and young 
begin to dance. 

Yes, not only people begin to dance 
but the animals, rocks, trees and all 
other objects begin to dance, too. None 
of these can stop dancing till the 
fiddler stops playing. 

But the funny thing about it is that 
the fiddler cannot stop playing unless 
he can play the air backwards. If he 
cannot do this the fiddling and the 
dancing must keep right on. 

Now, if the air cannot be played 
backwards, the only way the fiddling 
and dancing can be stopped is for some 
one to slip up behind the fiddler and 
cut the strings of the fiddle. Then the 


—- 

“Everybody and everything began to dance” 




































120 FAIRIES OF THE NINE HILLS 

fiddling and dancing cease at once. 

It is said that once at a picnic two 
fiddlers thoughtlessly started to play 
this Elf-king’s tune. Now they must 
have been stupid, thoughtless fiddlers 
for they did not know how to play the 
tune backwards. As soon as they be¬ 
gan to play, everybody and everything 
about began to dance. 

At first it was much fun. Both fid¬ 
dlers and dancers went merrily on. 
The fiddlers kept going a little faster. 
The dancers also kept going a little 
faster. 

It did not take long at this kind of 
fiddling and dancing for both fiddlers 
and dancers to get tired. 

First the people got tired. Then the 
animals got tired. The fiddlers were 
tired, but the music kept right on. The 
dancing kept right on, too. Neither 
dancers nor fiddlers could stop, but 


THE ELF-KING’S TUNE 


121 



they always went faster and faster. 

Soon even the trees, shrubs, grasses, 
leaves, and rocks began to get tired, 
but none of them could stop. The 
dancers began to cry out at the fid¬ 
dlers to stop fiddling. 

The fiddlers began to cry out to the 
dancers to come up behind them and 
cut the strings of their fiddles, but no 
one had a knife. 





122 FAIRIES OF THE NINE 1IILLS 

A wedding party happened to be 
passing by. They heard all this merry¬ 
making noise. They came up close to 
see what it was. As soon as they 
caught the strains of the music they all 
at once began to dance. 

At first this was great fun for the 
wedding party, but the music was now 
going too fast even for the wedding 
dancers. The bride got tired. The 
groom got tired. The wedding guests 
soon gave out, and all joined in the 
shout to the fiddlers to cease fiddling. 

The oak trees danced so fast and so 
hard all the acorns fell off. The walnut 
trees shook off all their walnuts. 

Down came the hickory nuts from 
all the hickory trees. Then from the 
pine trees down came all the pine 
cones. Still faster and harder they 
danced. 

Finally down came all the leaves 


THE ELF-KING’S TUNE 


123 


from all the trees. At last the branches 
and the bark began to break loose and 
fall off. 

The flowers lost their petals and 
leaves. The weed-seeds and leaves 
were shaken from all the weeds. The 
rocks began to jump up and down so 
fast that pieces began to fly off from 
them. 

Indeed it was difficult for the people: 
and the animals to keep out of the way 
of the trees and rocks. 

There were birds, horses, cows, 
sheep, dogs, and goats engaged in 
dancing to this magic Elf-king’s tune. 

The sheep, dogs, goats and birds 
carried on a merry clatter dancing up 
and down on the backs and heads of 
the horses and cows. 

This frightened the horses and cows 
and made them dance more furiously 
than ever. 


124 FAIRIES OF THE NINE HILLS 

The condition of the fiddlers and 
dancers was now becoming very seri¬ 
ous. Surely they must have all fiddled 
and danced themselves to death, had 
not a little Elf appeared and taken pity 
on them. 

Of course nobody saw the Elf. He 
was invisible. He was a good little Elf 
—a little White Elf of the air. 

He slipped up behind the fiddlers. 
He stepped right in between them, and 
with his little sharp Elf-knife he cut 
the strings of both fiddles almost at the 
same instant. Fiddlers and dancers all 
fell over from downright weariness. 

As soon as they were able to talk, no 
one stopped to inquire how the fiddle 
strings got cut. They were all too glad 
to be relieved from such a fiddling and 
dancing match. 

However, the dancers recovered 
slightly sooner than the fiddlers. 


THE ELF-KING »S TUNE 


125 


They picked up the fiddles and the 
fiddle-bows and began pommeling 
the fiddlers with them. 

The dancers drove the fiddlers 
away from the picnic. They didn’t 
want fiddlers who were foolish enough 
to begin playing the Elf-king’s tune, 
when they didn’t know how to stop 
themselves by playing it backwards. 

And it is said that never since that 
time has any fiddler been so rash as 
to begin playing the Elf-king’s tune. 


If the Elf-king’s tune you learn to play, 
Learn it backwards first, I say; 

And then you safely at a ball 
May play a lively step for all, 

And then no danger e’er may chance 
To come to those who like to dance. 



THE DANCE OF THE ELVES 


Round about, round about, in a fine 
ring, 

Thus we dance, thus we dance, and 
thus we sing; 

Trip and go, to and fro, over this green, 

All about, in and out, for our brave 
queen. 

Round about, round about, joy we 
bring, 

Thus we dance, thus we dance, in a 
fine ring; 

All about, in and out, over this green, 

Trip and go, to and fro, for our brave 
queen. 

We have danced round about, in a fine 
ring; 


126 






















































128 


FAIRIES OF THE NINE HILLS 



‘Trip and go, to and fro f over this green’ 


We have danced rapidly and thus we 
sing; 

Trip and go, to and fro, over this green, 
All about, in and out, for our brave 
queen. 

















































































































































